


Stop Waiting for the Punchline

by LadyLade



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-02
Updated: 2015-09-02
Packaged: 2018-04-18 14:30:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4709444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLade/pseuds/LadyLade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek is confused. How is telling Stiles that he likes him, in that ‘I want to rub my scent over you’ kind of way, using something against Stiles? But before Derek gets to ask, Stiles walks away with hunched shoulders and jerky strides.</p>
<p>Derek has no idea what just happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stop Waiting for the Punchline

**Author's Note:**

> Teen Wolf kink meme prompt: Derek realizes that he, gasp, has feelings for Stiles. The problem is that when he tries asking Stiles out for a date, Stiles gets upset and thinks he's being pranked. Cue Scott giving Derek the stink-eye and Stiles avoiding Derek. I want a happy ending anon! (Original is [here.](http://teenwolfkink.livejournal.com/2069.html?thread=527125#t527125) Livejournal post is [here](http://ladylade.livejournal.com/10136.html).)

Derek says the words, and Stiles twitches into nervous laughter. Then, when Derek doesn’t do whatever Stiles apparently thinks he should, he looks hurt and says, “You threaten to rip my throat out every other day and I’m cool with it—well, not really _cool_ —but I didn’t think you’d use this against me.”

Derek is confused. How is telling Stiles that he likes him, in that ‘I want to rub my scent over you’ kind of way, using something against Stiles? But before Derek gets to ask, Stiles walks away with hunched shoulders and jerky strides.

Derek has no idea what just happened.

>>> 

Scott shows up for his regular Sunday training session that Derek mandated after he became Alpha. Scott’s always surly and teenager-stupid on Sundays, but today he’s so obviously pissed that Derek can’t ignore it like he usually does.

“Did Allison break up with you again?” Derek finally asks. “Because if so then it’s your fault, not mine.”

“We didn’t break up! Wait, why, did she say anything to you?” Scott says.

Derek just stares. Mention Allison and the kid visibly drops IQ points. And when does Scott think that Derek interacts with Allison, anyway?

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Scott says.

“Her father is a hunter,” Derek can’t believe he has to point this out, “and I’m pretty sure that if I ever tried to talk to Allison, he would shoot me.”

“Oh, right,” Scott says.

Was Derek ever this stupid as a teenager? Then he remembers the whole thing with Kate, and hates himself for even asking the question.

“Anyway, that’s not what I’m mad about,” Scott says.

Jesus fucking wept. “What are you mad about?”

It’s obvious that Derek would rather do anything else besides have this conversation, and Scott glares at him like it’ll make Derek realize the errors of his ways or something equally stupid.

“Nothing,” Scott says after it becomes obvious that Derek is, as usual, unrepentant. “Let’s just get this over with.”

>>> 

Derek decides to drop by Stiles’ room after practice the next day, and is flabbergasted that: a) the window is actually locked, in a town that didn’t hear the second part of “lock your doors and windows” and b) Stiles isn’t there. Stiles is always there after practice, because if Stiles isn’t with Scott then he’s home, and Derek knows that right now Scott is probably making ridiculous in-love faces with Allison.

If Stiles isn’t here, then where the hell is he?

>>> 

Derek is beyond pissed. All week long, _all week long_ , Scott has been acting angsty and petulant, Stiles has seemingly decided to take bonding-time with his father to the extreme, and no one will tell Derek what’s going on. Of course, the only people Derek talks to are Scott and Stiles, but with Stiles avoiding Derek like he’s got the plague, it becomes Scott’s responsibility to answer Derek’s questions. But every time Derek tries to bring up Stiles, Scott changes the subject or asks when Derek became a stalker.

This cycle has got to end.

So Derek does one of the dumbest things he could possibly do, and seeks Allison out.

“Hi…Derek,” she says when she sees him leaning up against her car.

Derek chose to talk to her in the mall’s parking lot so that maybe she’d feel better about being in public, but the structure is pretty deserted and now Derek just feels like a creeper.

“I just want to ask you about Stiles and Scott. Scott’s been stupider than usual, and Stiles is avoiding me,” Derek says.

“Oh,” Allison says, and then she frowns. “Well, what you did to Stiles was really mean, Derek. He’s hurt.”

She’s just a teenager, but Derek actually feels ashamed when she simultaneously looks disappointed and judgy. How to women do that?

“That’s what I don’t understand,” Derek says, “how the hell did I hurt Stiles?”

“You told him you liked him,” Allison says, as if _Derek’s_ the deficient one in this conversation.

“Yes,” Derek says, “that’s what you do when you like someone.”

“Oh,” Allison says, “ _oh_. So you weren’t playing a prank on him?”

Derek just stares.

“Stiles thought you were making fun of him because he likes you,” Allison says.

That’s so stupid.

“That’s stupid,” Derek says.

“Yeah,” Allison says. “Now that I think about it, you really aren’t one to joke, are you?”

What is up with teenagers and their lack of common sense?

“No,” Derek says.

Allison smiles brightly, and Derek can understand why Scott thinks she’s beautiful.

“I’ll get Scott to convince Stiles to stop hiding,” she says, “that way you can knock some sense into him. _Gently_.”

“Thank you,” Derek says, and he means it. “Can you not mention this conversation to your parents? I’d rather not get shot by your dad.”

Derek walks to his car with the sound of Allison’s laughter trickling behind him.

>>> 

Two days later, when Derek stops by Stiles’ after practice, the window is open and Stiles is there.

All is right with the world.

“You’re an idiot,” Derek says once he’s got both feet on Stile’s floor.

Stiles jumps in his chair and flails, somehow managing to tip over both to the left _and_ the right before he steadies his chair. He spins around, and the nervousness coming off of him is almost enough to make Derek take a step back.

“Oh my god, do you _want_ to give me a heart attack? Would it kill you to make some noise? Because I can get you one of those collars with the bells…Sorry, sorry, don’t kill me,” Stiles says.

Christ the kid is annoying. Derek must have been dropped on his head as a child, to be as attracted to Stiles as he is.

“You’re an idiot,” Derek repeats. “Why did you think I was playing a joke on you?”

Stiles freezes, and it’s terrifying. Derek has _never_ seen him go so still before, not even when he fell asleep on Derek’s porch waiting for Scott and Derek to finish one of their training sessions.

“Stiles,” Derek says, prompting him, and Stiles flinches when he starts walking towards him.

“So, hey, how’s Scott’s training going? Don’t you have something to do with him? Like, right now?” Stiles says.

Derek just shakes his head, and they have a slow-walk chase around the room until Derek finally corners Stiles against a wall. He gets right up into Stile’s space, just like he usually does, but this time he’s boxing Stiles in with hands against the wall and a stare instead of a glare.

“This isn’t funny, Derek,” Stiles says, squirming and turning his head away.

“Stiles, when have I ever joked about anything?” Derek asks.

“Well, there was this one time—”

“ _Stiles_ ,” Derek says.

The kid finally meets his gaze.

“I like you,” Derek says. “This isn’t a joke. Stop being stupid.”

“See, if you had said that in the first place I probably wouldn’t have freaked,” Stiles says. “Also, really?”

Derek keeps trying to figure out why he thinks this is a good idea.

“Yes, really,” he says.

“No punch line?”

“No punch line,” Derek confirms.

“Oh,” Stiles says, and then starts grinning in a way that makes Derek nervous. “This is going to be _awesome_.”


End file.
